TuNur Phase 2

TuNur reported that the TuNur Italy 2,000 MW Tunisia–Italy HVDC interconnector had been included in ENTSO-E’s Ten-Year Network Development Plan 2020 under project number 283, maintaining its status in the European cross-border transmission planning framework.

On 31 July 2017, TuNur Limited submitted a formal request for authorisation to the Tunisian Ministry of Energy, Mines and Renewable Energy for a 4.5 GW solar export complex in southwest Tunisia near Réjim Maâtoug, including dedicated HVDC infrastructure to export carbon-free electricity to the European market via Italy, covering the main TuNur Phase 2 Tunisia–Italy interconnector leg.

ENTSO-E included the TuNur Italy 2 GW HVDC interconnector between Maatoug in Tunisia and Montalto di Castro in Italy (Project 283 – TuNur) in its 2016 Ten-Year Network Development Plan, recognising TuNur Ltd as project promoter and describing the planned +/-500 kV DC overhead and submarine cable system with associated converter stations.

As part of ENTSO-E’s 2016 Ten-Year Network Development Plan, the TuNur project promoter submitted an estimated total capital expenditure for the Tunisia–Italy HVDC interconnector of approximately €2.7 billion (range €2.5–2.9 billion including contingencies), providing the cost basis for subsequent cost–benefit analyses.

By August 2014, the TuNur project, which includes the 2 GW HVDC link from Tunisia to Italy, obtained preliminary approval from the Commission des Grands Projets, a technical commission within Tunisia’s Ministry of Development and International Cooperation, marking an initial regulatory green light on the permitting side for the project to proceed toward implementation.

By February 2013, TuNur and its engineering partners had completed key cable route engineering for the 2 GW HVDC interconnector between Southern Tunisia and Italy, identifying a dedicated submarine cable route from the project site near Réjim Maâtoug to the Italian coast with marine engineering support from Intertek Metoc. Based on further work by Italian consultant CESI, an interconnection point on the Tyrrhenian coast at Montalto di Castro was selected and later approved by Italian TSO Terna, which provided a 2000 MW grid connection solution at this optimal landing point in central Italy.

Terna S.p.A., the Italian transmission system operator, approved and provided a 2,000 MW grid connection solution at an optimal landing point on the Tyrrhenian coast (subsequently specified as Montalto di Castro, Lazio) for the TuNur Italy HVDC interconnector, enabling the planned 2 GW link from TuNur’s solar complex in southern Tunisia to connect to the ENTSO-E network without major grid reinforcements.

By January 24, 2012, TuNur Ltd had been established as a joint-venture company between UK solar developer Nur Energie Ltd and a group of Tunisian investors led by Top Oilfield Services to develop the TuNur solar export project, including a planned ~2 GW HVDC submarine cable link from Tunisia to central Italy. The JV’s mission is to deliver the first utility‑scale solar export project between Tunisia and Europe, and by this time it had already identified the Tunisian site, carried out long‑term solar measurements, defined a viable cable route to Italy, and secured a 2,000 MW grid connection solution from Italian grid operator Terna at an optimal landing point in central Italy.

On 24 January 2012, Nur Energie and its Tunisian partners announced that the TuNur project, including its planned 2 GW HVDC link from Tunisia to Italy, had already achieved key early development milestones. These included identifying an economically and technically viable submarine cable route between Tunisia and Italy and obtaining from Italian TSO Terna a 2,000 MW grid connection solution at an optimal landing point in central Italy, alongside site identification in Tunisia and long‑term solar resource measurements at the site.